1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bibs and more particularly bibs usable by infants, toddlers, the elderly and others when eating to prevent food spillage from soiling clothes and preventing food from falling to the floor or adjacent surfaces.
2. Background of the Invention
Dining bibs are commonly used both by infants and adults. Parents and attendants of children and infants often attach a bib to the child when the child is eating to prevent spillage and soiling. Many restaurants, particularly specialty restaurants such as seafood restaurants, will provide large bibs for patrons to prevent or minimize spillage and soiling of clothing.
Nursing homes and hospitals which care for the elderly and other patients commonly utilize bibs to prevent soiling clothes and to reduce spillage so that clean-up after meals is minimized. The use of bibs is also a sanitary precaution minimizing exposure to germs as infants and toddlers are often disposed to retrieving food items from a table or tray and placing these items in their mouths. The use of a clean bib surface on which the food falls results in providing germ protection so that food morsels which are subsequently consumed are less likely to be contaminated.
There are a wide variety of types of bibs that can be found in the prior art. Generally both adult and infant bibs have an apron-like body which has an opening or some sort of attachment which can be secured about the neck of the user. Various materials are commonly used. Bibs that are reusable may be cloth or plastic. Disposable bibs are also available in the prior art and generally these are fabricated from plastic material which often are packaged in folded condition and are unfolded or separated at the time of use.
For example, U.S. Publication 2001/0014980 discloses a disposable paper bib for use in a rolled, dispensing manner. Each bib has a neck ring perforated at its uppermost edge.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,333 discloses a disposable bib of a flexible sheet material having a tape-tab fastener. At the time of use, the parting line is opened and the tape-tab fastener is peeled so the bib may be placed around the wearer's neck and secured in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,150 shows a disposable bib for catching foods and liquids particularly while feeding an infant or toddler. The disposable bib includes a panel having a top layer, middle layer and a bottom layer. The top layer comprises a relatively porous material, the middle layer is a relatively absorbent material and the bottom layer is a relatively non-porous material. The disposable bib further includes a pocket member for catching debris which protrudes from a lower portion of the bib away from the chest of a user. While the bib protects the chest of the user, the pocket member only protrudes a relative small distance outward and will not provide adequate protection to the user's lap.
Other bibs can be found in the prior art which are fabricated from a fabric material such as a polyester, and are termed “crumb catcher bibs” which have a pocket extending across the bottom of the bib to catch food that is spilled on to the surface of the bib.
U.S. Publication 2005/0120457 shows a placemat and protective covering for infants which includes a main placemat area which may be placed on a table to provide a clean eating surface. The covering may be attached to the side arms of a highchair or child seat so that most of the surfaces of the highchair or other child seat and table surrounding the baby are covered by the placemat. The covering further includes a separate bib portion that may be coupled to the placemat. This combination requires assembly and may be easily separated by a restless infant or child, resulting in any dropped debris or liquid to land on the user's lap or floor.